The Aftermath
by whitewingedalbatross
Summary: Micah has returned. Shane has disappeared. Reed is brokenhearted. Windsor is thrown into chaos, and the Warblers stage a plan to fix the mess they've all been left with...but is it too late? Based on CP Coulter's Dalton. Rane and slight Klaine.
1. Staging

**A/N: **

**This is a short story based on the amazing work of CP Coulter, "Dalton," which can be found here: www. fanfiction. net/ s/ 6515261/ 1 (just take out the spaces!)**

**I DO NOT OWN DALTON - Dalton is the wonderful work of CP Coulter, AKA Monique Dimanlig! Please go read her wonderful work and show her your support! I am nothing but a lowly fan!**

**Reed Van Kamp, Shane Anderson, Micah Randall, Ethan & Evan Brightman, Charlie Amos, Dwight Houston, and Han Westwood are all the property of CP Coulter. Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, David Sullivan, and Wes Hughes are the property of Ryan Murphy and Fox, as is _Glee_ – the wonderful TV show that started it all. **

**Please, let me know if there are any mistakes in the story, or if any of the characters seem to be acting OOC. I wrote this very quickly and am not entirely happy with it yet.**

**::::::::::**

**The Aftermath:**

**Part 1 - Staging**

**::::::::::**

_Reed stared at Shane, wondering why he was standing there, white as a sheet and unmoving. He looked like he was in shock. He touched his hand. "Shane? Shane, what's wrong?"_

_Rebecca turned around with the others, smiling as she did when she saw what Shane was staring at. "He's here."_

_"He…?" Reed asked._

_Kurt stared at the tall, lean, brown-haired boy that walked up to them, dressed in rather nice preppy clothes and wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses. His smile was kind, but his eyes looked tired. But those eyes have yet to ever leave Shane._

_"We found him, can you believe it?" Erin hissed wildly to a similarly-stricken Blaine. "We thought we'd never see him again but we found him! We ran into him in a San Francisco book convention!"_

_Shane was rendered mute and paralyzed. Reed stared from him to the tall boy and back again. "Shane?"_

_The tall boy smiled at Shane, looking rather apologetic. "…hi."_

_Shane unstuck his throat, his voice sounding distant. "…you…"_

_Kurt looked at Blaine, who said, utterly floored, "…Micah."_

_Erin and Rebecca were grinning eagerly, and all the other Windsors looked confused. But Kurt knew who Micah was, and, from the look on Shane and Blaine's faces, and as he now turned his small roommate, who looked anxious—as though he was starting to make a terrible and accurate guess—that they weren't out of the woods at all._

_They had only just gotten in._

**- From Dalton,**** Ep. 23, by CP Coulter**_  
_

**::::::::::**

Kurt grabbed Reed's hand and dragged him away from the scene, the other boy following numbly behind him and slowing Kurt's pace by stumbling every few feet, suddenly struggling to stay upright without Shane's steady presence by his side. His chocolate brown eyes were wide and unseeing, his fingers limp and clammy in Kurt grip as he was dragged through the crowd, all the way across campus to Windsor, and up the stairs to the room they both shared.

It wasn't until he felt the softness of his bed beneath his legs and a pair of cool, delicate hands encasing his cheeks that he raised his gaze to meet his roommate's eyes, his own suddenly filling with tears as the situation finally dawned on him.

_Shane_.

Not two hours before, they had sung to each other in the hall of mirrors, danced together on stage, and Reed had found himself drawing closer to whatever answer he had been searching for regarding the tall, endearing, (if not slightly insane) dancer…and now…

All Reed could see, playing over and over again in his head, were Shane's long, sturdy arms – arms that had protected him from certain harm on many occasions – wrapping lovingly around another boy.

He had watched, wide-eyed and stunned, as Shane had pulled away from him and stared at the taller brunette with what Reed could only describe as intense _wonder_ on his face. His heart nearly stopped as Shane lunged forward and pulled Micah into a tight embrace, his strong arms clutching the thinner boy so close it almost looked painful. Micah pressed his face into Shane's unruly curls, his glasses knocked askew, and wound his own arms around Shane's neck without a moment of hesitation.

"Micah…" he heard Shane murmur, his voice hoarse but still loud enough for Reed to hear. A choked sob had left Reed's throat at the sight and he turned his eyes away, searching for something – _anything_ – else to focus on.

It was at that moment that Blaine, catching the look on Reed's face, had nudged his boyfriend with a meaningful look, and Kurt had slipped a hand around Reed's elbow to drag him away from the crowd. Reed had little to no recollection of how they had gotten away from the scene, no knowledge of how many times he had tripped or how many bruises and scrapes he would have to doctor in the morning, and somehow, not a care in the world about the many stains his tears would be leaving on the front of his shirt.

"_Micah_…" The name sounded bitter even in his thoughts and he scrunched up his face against the tears that refused to stop dripping down his cheeks. Kurt's hands were gentle as they tilted his face upwards, forcing him to meet his friend's caring gaze, but as Kurt tried to speak to him, all he could hear was that same name: _"Micah…Micah…Micah…"_

Kurt, realizing the futility of trying to get through to his fashionable friend that night, simply slid onto the bed beside Reed and pulled him into a tight hug. He rubbed his hands up and down Reed's spine in a comforting manner until the smaller boy caved in to his exhaustion and drifted off to sleep.

Kurt slid from the bed as silently as he could manage and tucked Reed under his sheets, brushing a strawberry-blonde curl from his face in a rather motherly manner before slipping from the room and closing the door behind him without a sound.

"He asleep yet?" Kurt heard Blaine's voice ask from over his shoulder, and turned to wrap his arms instantly around his boyfriend's waist.

"Finally," he replied with a soft sigh while his fingers twisted into Blaine's shirt and his ear pressed against the soft thrum of his boyfriend's heart.

"What a mess," he heard Blaine murmur into his hair, the echo of the words through Blaine's chest making him chuckle softly, though the sound seemed hollow.

"More or less a disaster, I'm sure."

"We'll talk about it in the morning, alright?" Blaine reassured him, "You must be just as tired."

"Mhmm…" was all that Kurt could manage, which caused a soft laugh to leave Blaine's throat.

"C'mon, sleepyhead…you can stay with me tonight."

Kurt was too tired to object or feel embarrassed at the thought, barely managing enough energy to nod and cling more tightly to Blaine as they stumbled toward his room in the dark.

**::::::::::::**

The next week was anything but typical, even for Windsor.

Shane had all but disappeared from campus, with neither his nor Micah's curly heads spotted once since the festival had ended.

Any attempts to drag Reed from his room for anything other than class ended disastrously – even the Tweedles couldn't successfully pry him from his bed, despite their very best attempts.

Kurt had taken up permanent residence with Blaine to avoid the chaos emanating from Reed's side of their shared room, returning only to rescue his clothes and liberate several of Reed's more expensive and lovely designer pieces from their closet (which he reassured himself Reed would thank him for later, of course). On his second trip back into the room for his toiletries and shoes, Reed had (unintentionally) splattered a rather large amount of pastel-green paint across the dark blue cashmere scarf Kurt was wearing, and Blaine had been forced to intervene, pinning Kurt's arms to his sides and dragging the countertenor from the room before he could strangle Reed to death.

Currently, the young fashionista was slashing at his many fashion magazines with a small pair of safety scissors – his "grown-up" pair having been taken from him several months ago after one too many stabbing accidents – and mumbling softly to himself with a slightly crazed expression on his face.

The surrounding room was in absolute disarray, the curtains hanging haphazardly from their rod (Reed had fallen out of bed two days prior and ripped them down while trying to keep his balance), his sheets tangled into knots at the edge of his mattress, and both his and Kurt's beds covered in a colorful mixture of paint splatters and charcoal smudges, as well as about a dozen failed sketches and paintings.

He barely noticed when someone knocked on his door softly – days of rebuffing the attempts of his dorm mates to cheer him up had made it easy to ignore them when they came by – and his hands continued to robotically cut through the faces of the models in the magazine, his mind not registering how familiar some of their faces looked nor his mother name on the pages as he destroyed them.

On the other side of the door, the Tweedles gave each other an almost forlorn look. Their attempts to rouse Reed from his gloom earlier in the week had ended in a small explosion and Charlie had made them promise not to try it again, but they weren't swayed from their attempts until Kurt threatened to burn every batch of cookies he made for the next year unless they gave it a rest.

"Poor little Dormouse…" Ethan mused, stroking his chin in a rather posh manner with a completely seriously look on his face, which lasted for mere moments before he broke into a devilish grin.

"Indeed." Evan answered with a grin of his own. "Don't you think it's time…" he began with a silly wiggle of his eyebrows.

"…to stage a full scale intervention?" Ethan finished for him knowingly.

"Indeed." Evan repeated, his grin widening dangerously.

"…_we're off to see the wizard!"_ They chorused as they linked arms as skipped down the hall towards the raucous sounds of the rest of Windsor house.

**::::::::::::**

**A/N:**

**Please review! I know its really short, but that seemed like as good a place to stop as any, and this is _only_ the introduction - they'll get longer and longer as we go along, I promise! Part 2 will be up later today, after I force myself to sleep! :D**


	2. Explaining

**A/N: **

**Alright, here is Part 2, sooner than I had planned.**

**As always, I DON'T OWN DALTON – Dalton is the wonderful work of CP Coulter, AKA Monique Dimanlig! Please go read her wonderful work and show her your support! I am nothing but a lowly fan!**

**Reed Van Kamp, Shane Anderson, Micah Randall, Ethan & Evan Brightman, Charlie Amos, Dwight Houston, and Han Westwood are all the property of CP Coulter. **

**Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, David Sullivan, and Wes Hughes are the property of Ryan Murphy and Fox, as is _Glee_ – the wonderful TV show that started it all. **

**Please review and tell me if I'm doing this right!**

**::::::::::**

**The Aftermath:  
Part 2 – Explaining**

**::::::::::**

_"Poor little Dormouse…" Ethan mused, stroking his chin in a rather posh manner with a completely seriously look on his face, which lasted for mere moments before he broke into a devilish grin._

_"Indeed." Evan answered with a grin of his own. "Don't you think it's time…" he began with a silly wiggle of his eyebrows._

_"…to stage a full scale intervention?" Ethan finished for him knowingly._

_"Indeed." Evan repeated, his grin widening dangerously._

_"…we're off to see the wizard!" They chorused as they linked arms as skipped down the hall towards the raucous sounds of the rest of Windsor house._

**::::::::::  
**

Blaine rested his shoulder against the wood of the kitchen door's frame as he watched his fellow Windsor's with thinly disguised amusement. The other boys were sitting at the counter in a half-circle, eyes wide and mouths gaping as they watched Kurt in utter fascination.

Kurt shot his boyfriend a sarcastic smile across the room as he carefully measured the flour he would need to make yet _another_ batch of his "famous" cookies for his dorm mates. Every eye in the room was trained on his nimble fingers as they cracked open a few eggs and gently added them to the batter and he stirred it all together while whistling a few bars of Alanis Morissette's "Ironic."

As he was spinning around the room, stirring and humming softly to himself, thoroughly enjoying the rapt attention the other boys were giving him, Ethan and Evan appeared at the door behind Blaine.

"_Hello, Mr. Rabbit."_ They greeted in perfect unison as they leaned around the doorframe to look at him.

"Gah!" Blaine cried out and jumped away from them, their voices immediately snapping him out of his daydreams about Kurt (the occurrence of which he would deny vehemently later).

Kurt, distracted by his cooking, failed to notice their arrival, and jumped slightly at Blaine's sudden outburst. The large mixing bowl he was using to prepare the cookie dough in slammed against the counter, causing him to fling his mixing spoon across the counter…which landed square in the middle of David's forehead.

There was a moment of stunned silence as all of the Windsor's gathered in the kitchen stared at the spoon in awe.

"Dibs!" Wes called from the end of the counter, breaking the silence, and all at once the boys lunged toward David, trying desperately to get a swipe of the raw dough from his skin.

_"Ahhhhhrggghhhh…!"_ Was all David managed to cry out before he was smothered by several hundred pounds of ravenous teenage boys.

"_Alice is making cookies~!"_ The Tweedles cried out happily and dove around Blaine into the fray, each managing to claw away a small chunk of the dough away thanks to several well-placed elbows to the ribs. Blaine stared at the other boys with a mixture of amusement and fear on his face as he clambered to his feet and made his way to Kurt's side, resting a hand on his boyfriend's hip.

"You're never getting that spoon back, you know." He explained, the words coming out in such a superior way that Kurt had to give him a light punch to the shoulder.

"_There is no spoon…"_ Kurt replied in a jokingly mysterious tone, waggling his flour-covered fingers in Blaine's face.

"Ha!" Blaine burst into laughter at that and had to grip the edge of the counter to keep from falling over. "A _Matrix_ reference from you, really? And here I thought my nerdiness would never rub off on you!"

Kurt just smiled at him cheekily and turned back to his cooking, grabbing another spoon from a drawer and returning to his work before the other boys realized what he was doing. Once the cookies were safely in the oven and he had removed his apron, Kurt returned to his place in Blaine's arms and watched as their fellow Windsor's finally finished squabbling and crawled back into their chairs, all looking slightly ruffled and sporting footprints across their uniforms.

"Satisfied yet?" Kurt asked them all with a chuckle.

"Never! Never!" Came the cry from the row of teenagers, their fists pumping in the air in unison.

"Oh my Gaga, its like they rehearsed it…" Kurt grumbled incredulously, making Blaine chuckle against his throat.

"We'll never admit to it," Ethan replied with a grin.

"Oh no, giving away our secrets is definitely off-limits," Evan added.

"You're impossible!" Kurt threw his hands in the air, but smiled at his friends none-the-less.

"We thought nothing was impossible for us," Evan submitted, his voice slightly forlorn, "but even so…"

"…the Dormouse has presented us with a problem we have yet to solve," his brother finished with a sigh.

The rest of the Windsor boys turned to look at the two blondes with incredulous expressions adorning every one of their faces.

Dwight tried to back away from them both, clutching tightly at the medallion around his neck. "I knew it! They've been cursed!" He cried, his voice ringing with fear, "Who could _possibly _have the power to curse such devils…?"

He was promptly thumped on the back of the head by at least three hands and fell silent with a resigned look on his face, though his fingers continued to strum over his medallion anxiously.

"What are you guys on about?" Wes asked tentatively, also looking concerned for the twin's sanity.

"_Monsieur_ Van Kamp," Evan stated.

"And the cloud of his _angst_ that has taken over the whole house," Ethan added, his tone implying that it was the most obvious conclusion in the world.

"Ah."

"…and?" Kurt ventured to ask, his perfectly sculpted brows furrowing in concern for his friend and roommate (for more than one reason, since the twins were involved).

"We propose an intervention…" the Tweedles replied.

"…a little _push_ in the right direction, if you will." Ethan added, while giving Charlie's shoulder a less than gentle nudge. The prefect pushed him away with a scowl.

"I don't like where this is headed," he groaned, but Wes and David shushed him and gestured for the twins to continue.

"We've tried everything," Evan complained.

"We started with the obvious, stealing his clothing…"

"And locking him out of his room…"

"Oh, and pelting him with water balloons, of course!"

"We even brought _back_ the clothes, you know…" Evan added as a side-note, his expression completely disgusted.

"But nothing's worked."

"We can't get him out of his room…"

"So _how_ can we be expected to cheer him up?"

Kurt let his head drop down to the countertop in complete exasperation. "You two will be the death of me, I _swear_."

He heard Blaine chuckle at him over his shoulder and gave his boyfriend's hip a good-natured swat in retaliation. When he finally raised his head, he nearly jumped into Blaine's arms in surprise at seeing the Tweedles leaning over both of his shoulders, their faces suddenly very close to his own.

"Agh! Don't _DO _that!" He admonished, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment.

"Why not?" One of them asked, pressing his nose to Kurt's cheek.

"Yeah, why not?" The other chorused, mimicking his brother's actions.

Blaine caught the murderous expression on Kurt's face a moment before things grew out of hand and pushed the twins away, pulling Kurt back into a protective embrace.

"Guys, guys…please, don't torment him right now. I don't want to clean up the mess after he slaughters you two." He rested his chin on Kurt's shoulder while glaring at the twins, who had the decency to fake identical looks of remorse.

"We're sorry, Alice," they chimed, "we just wanted to get your take on things."

Kurt glared at them for another moment, then sighed and relented, placing his hands over the pair Blaine had curled around his waist. "Jeezum…don't you two get it? You're making things worse, going about this completely the wrong way."

"Why, whatever do you mean, Alice?" The Tweedles replied, leaning closer to listen more intently. Behind them, all of the other Windsor boys in the kitchen unconsciously did the same.

Kurt glanced around at them all in frustration. "Well, come on, isn't it _obvious?"_ he asked, only to be met with silence.

"Reed is _heartbroken."_ He explained slowly, raising one hand to emphasize his words. He was met again with silence, the twins staring at him with unnervingly wide eyes.

"Wha–…haven't–…haven't you ever been heartbroken before?" He asked them incredulously, his eyebrows raising almost into his hair.

"No." the twins replied immediately, tilting their heads curiously at the thought.

"Oh boy, this is going to be a long night, isn't it?" Kurt asked, more to himself than anything, and felt Blaine chuckle against his shoulder once more.

**::::::::::**

**A/N:**

**Aha, the plot thickens! And I still haven't gotten any sleep! D: Lol, oh well! I guess these guys just speak to me! I see why CP has problems shutting them up!  
**

**Part three coming soon!**


	3. Surprising

**A/N:**

**As always, I DO NOT OWN DALTON. Dalton is the property of the amazing and talented CP Coulter. **

**Reed Van Kamp, Shane Anderson, Micah Randall, Ethan & Evan Brightman, Charlie Amos, Dwight Houston, are Han Westwood are ****all her brainchildren...I am merely borrowing them for the moment to torture them with my headcannon. **

**Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, David Sullivan, and Wes Hughes are the property of Ryan Murphy and Fox, as is _Glee_ – the wonderful TV show that started it all. **

**Hope you all enjoy this new installment!**

**:::::::::**

**The Aftermath:  
Part 3 – Surprising**

**::::::::::**

_"Jeezum…don't you two get it? You're making things worse, going about this completely the wrong way."_

_"Why, whatever do you mean, Alice?" The Tweedles replied, leaning closer to listen more intently. Behind them, all of the other Windsor boys in the kitchen unconsciously did the same._

_Kurt glanced around at them all in frustration. "Well, come on, isn't it obvious?" he asked, only to be met with silence._

_"Reed is heartbroken." He explained slowly, raising one hand to emphasize his words. He was met again with silence, the twins staring at him with unnervingly wide eyes._

_"Wha–…haven't–…haven't you ever been heartbroken before?" He asked them incredulously, his eyebrows raising almost into his hair._

_"No." the twins replied immediately, tilting their heads curiously at the thought._

_"Oh boy, this is going to be a long night, isn't it?" Kurt asked, more to himself than anything, and felt Blaine chuckle against his shoulder once more._

**::::::::::  
**

Three days after what Kurt had come to call the "spoon fiasco," the inhabitants of Windsor house found themselves with a dilemma.

Namely, Shane Anderson, and his untimely arrival at Dalton.

Shane stood in Dean Ramsey's office, hopping anxiously from one foot to the other as he waited for her secretary to finish gathering his paperwork, when his phone chirped softly in his pocket. He whipped the phone from his pocket and gazed down at the new text message that popped up over his disco-ball wallpaper.

**Hey, Shane…where are you? One of the guys said they saw you walking across campus earlier.  
– Blaine**

Shane chuckled softly at his brother's question and glanced around the office he was currently occupying, his fidgeting getting worse by the moment. He shot back a quick reply just as the secretary turned back to him with a clipboard and a pen.

**im at dalton. didn't i tell u i flew in this morning? ;P  
xX Shane**

While he waited for his brother's reply, he filled out the paperwork that had been presented to him, signing his name with unnecessary flourish and a broad smile on his lips. Another chirp from his phone made him pause and he glanced down at the screen again.

**No, you didn't! UGH, SHANE! You can't just SHOW UP at my school without saying anything, you moron!  
– Blaine**

His brother's message made him laugh so loudly that the woman sitting across the desk from him nearly fell out of her chair, and he had to apologize profusely before she would stop glaring at him disapprovingly and turn back to her work. He tucked his phone under the table and typed out a quick reply before the woman turned her gaze back to him.

**but it was for a reaaaaaaaally good reason! u will forgive me when I tell u, i promise  
xX Shane**

Blaine's reply was almost instantaneous, but it only served to broaden Shane's smile.

**This had better be good.  
– Blaine**

He glanced up at the secretary sneakily, then thumbed through the rest of his paperwork for a moment before shooting off a quick reply:

**meet u windsor in 10?  
xX Shane**

He rushed through the rest of the forms as quickly as he could manage without turning his already haphazard handwriting into a foreign language, pausing only to read Blaine's last message:

**Deal.  
– Blaine**

Once finished with all of the paperwork, Shane had to sit patiently (which for him was pure torture) for the Dean to look through it all and have it sent off to his parents.

"Are you sure you've thought this through?" She asked him, with just a touch of concern in her voice. "Your brother has done quite well here for the past few years, and I see that you have excellent marks from your school in Colorado…but this isn't for everyone. We'd be more than happy to accept you, if you're sure, but with grades like these, I just don't understand why you'd want to make such a drastic change."

Shane waved his hand at her, only half listening to her concerns on the matter. For the Shane, the decision didn't need any further thought.

"Mr. Anderson?" Dean Ramsey called his name, snapping him to full attention. "Were you listening? I'm wondering if you've thought this decision through properly."

Shane met her gaze evenly, his expression more serious than it had been in a great deal of time. "I have never been more sure of anything in my life," he answered simply, and Dean Ramsey got the distinct impression from the passion burning in his eyes that Dalton Academy wasn't the only thing he was so sure about.

"Very well then," she said after a short pause, "I'll have Collette get your uniform sorted out, and when your parent's fax back your forms, we'll set you up with the equivalent classes you have been taking thus far at your other school." She stood, and walked around the desk to shake Shane's hand, not missing the giddy smile on the boy's lips.

"Welcome to Dalton, Mr. Anderson."

**::::::::::**

"Shane's here."

Kurt looked up from his copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare to gaze at Blaine with a raised eyebrow. "Well, that's new." He carefully placed his bookmark between the pages and set the book aside, patting the space beside him on his window seat to invite Blaine to join him.

"Whatcha reading?" Blaine asked as he slumped onto the cushion beside his boyfriend, looping his arm easily around the thinner boy's shoulders.

"Othello." Kurt answered shortly and leaned into Blaine's chest. "That's not important. What's Shane doing here?"

"Hell if I know. He said he'd drop by here soon."

"Blaine…him being here–…I mean, you know I think your brother's great and all, but…"

"Ha, that's rich." Blaine leaned his head back against the window pane and closed his eyes. "I know he could totally screw up all of our plans."

"Plans for what, exactly?"

At the sound of Shane's voice right in front of him, Blaine's eyes flew open and both he and Kurt clambered to their feet to greet him. "Oh, nothing, nothing!" Kurt reassured the taller boy quickly, his hand fluttering to rest on Shane's elbow. "So, what brings you to our humble abode, good sir?" He asked while gesturing with his free hand to the lavish interior of the Windsor sitting room they were currently occupying.

Blaine snorted into his hand at Kurt's tone and had to duck out of the way as Kurt tried to smack him with a scowl. Shane laughed at their antics for a moment, reaching out to ruffle his brother's hair with a taunting grin.

Once Blaine had managed to wriggle his way out of both of their reach, he crossed his arms and donned a disapproving expression. "Well?" he demanded, his lips turning down as he waited for a response to Kurt's question.

"Ah, you caught me!" Shane exclaimed and stepped away from them both to grab his bag from a nearby table. "I present to you fine gentlemen the reason for my presence here today!" He flipped the bag open with a flourish and a ridiculously wide grin on his face, and then paused for a dramatic effect.

Blaine and Kurt both reached out to thump him on the back of the head.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" He batted them away with his free hand as the other reached into his bag and pulled out a neatly folded Dalton Academy uniform jacket, adorned with a shining blue and gold pendant. _"Ta-da!"_

Blaine's cries of anguish were heard all the way over in Stuart hall.

**::::::::::**

"Was that Blaine?" Wes called down the hall to his Windsor brothers, who were all peeking their heads out of their doors and looking around in confusion at the at the screaming that had just echoed up through the floor.

"Sure it was!" Ethan cooed happily as he and his brother climbed the stairs toward their friends.

"Who else could reach such decibels and still sound so lovely?" Evan added as they approached

"Shane is one of us now, you know." Ethan continued conversationally while leaning uncaringly against a portrait adorning one wall of the hallway.

"Indeed, he's a Windsor boy now." Evan confirmed.

The hall erupted into excited yells and jovial dancing, while Ethan and Evan pulled out two identical Nerf guns. "Time to welcome our little Bat to Windsor house!" Evan said to his brother, who nodded enthusiastically. "Let's go, boys! ITS _ON!"_ They declared, and led the charge back down the stairs toward their unsuspecting Windsor brethren.

Two stories below, Kurt and Blaine looked up at the ceiling in sheer terror as the sound of half of the Windsor boys barreling down the stairs reached their ears. They raced to the couch and peeled off a cushion each to use as shields, then ducked behind a table and waited for the onslaught.

Shane, who was still blissfully ignorant to the goings-on of Windsor house, had been trying to explain to Blaine why he had transferred schools and was currently watching his brother and Kurt duck away with confusion written all over his face. At the sound of the dozens of feet currently thundering down the stairs, he caught on to their motives and tried to back away from the staircase.

He was too late.

With a chorus of maniacal laughter, the Tweedles led the rest of Windsor down the stairs, all aiming their Nerf guns with deadly precision, and fired straight at Shane's head.

**::::::::::**

"Welcome to Windsor," Blaine said wryly as he pressed an icepack to his brother's head. Shane was smiling broadly up at him, despite having a slight concussion from being knocked to the ground by a wave of boys in blue.

"Totally! Man, that was _awesome!"_ He giggled softly at his own statement, his emerald eyes slightly unfocused. Kurt waved a hand in front of Shane's face, but it earned no response from the frazzled boy.

"Oh Gaga, now we're going to have to keep him up all night to make sure his brain doesn't melt!" Kurt moaned, plopping back into one of the kitchen chairs carelessly.

"You mean he actually _has_ a brain?" Blaine asked as he pulled away from his brother, dropping the ice pack into the sink with a dull thud.

"I love how your tone suggests you're completely serious, Blaine. I'm concerned about you right now."

Blaine shot a hurt look at his boyfriend, whose only reply was to stick out his tongue in defiance. Seeking revenge, Blaine grabbed Kurt and tugged him close so that he could slide his freezing-cold hands under the countertenor's shirt. Kurt's rather feminine screams echoed off the walls and up the stairs, calling the Tweedles back out of hiding.

"Alice!" They cried as the simultaneously slid through the kitchen door, landing just feet from where Shane was still giggling in his chair.

"We heard your cry of distress!" Ethan professed as he bowed deeply before Kurt.

"We're here to rescue you, fair maiden!" Evan added, giving a bow of his own and taking Kurt's hand to kiss his knuckles. Kurt blushed so deeply red Blaine thought he might combust.

"Ah, knock it off, you two!" Blaine grumbled, pulling Kurt away from further embarrassment.

"You're no fun, Herr Rabbit." Ethan pouted, plopping down into the chair next to Shane.

Shane remained blissfully unaware of their goings-on, deciding that his own fingertips were much more interesting, and started humming softly to himself. The four other boys turned to watch him curiously, Blaine rubbing the back of his head self-consciously.

"So…what _are_ we going to do with him? He's more useless than usual right now, and letting him wander around loose like this could seriously jeopardize our plans…"

Kurt sighed and tilted his head back against Blaine's chest to look up at the shorter boy, his blue eyes shining with affection. "It's true…we're lucky Reed didn't come downstairs to see what all the ruckus was about."

"_Ruckus?"_ Blaine asked with a chuckle, his lips brushing over his boyfriend's forehead. "You're so old-fashioned."

Before Kurt had time to snap back with the witty retort sitting on the tip of his tongue, a large hand wrapped around his and he dropped his gaze down to Shane, who had scooted closer and was looking up at him expectantly.

"Reed?" He asked, the green of his pupils reflecting his interest at the smaller boy's name. "Whereishe?"

"Um…" Kurt floundered under Shane's eager gaze, turning to Blaine with a pleading look of his own.

"He hasn't left his room since last week." Blaine said, his tone unusually gentle as he tried to pry his brother's fingers from Kurt's wrists. "He's…pretty shaken up."

"Ineedtoseehimnow!" Shane rambled in one breath, gripping his brother's wrists instead a he slid to his feet, teetering only momentarily before righting himself. "PleaseBlaineIhavetotellhim!"

"Hey, woah! Sit down!" Blaine tried to push his brother back into his chair to no avail, Shane taking advantage of the height he had over his brother, as well as the strength he built as a dancer that Blaine never developed.

"No! PleaseBlaineplease!" Shane took a deep breath, his eyelids fluttering wildly in excitement. "I have to make this right!"

Kurt and Blaine gave each other a meaningful look over Shane's shoulder, and Kurt shrugged slightly.

"Alright, alright…" Blaine grumbled, and Shane let out an excited whoop, but both Blaine and Kurt grabbed onto him before he could rush off. "Woah, hang on there, bro…not so fast."

"Yeah," Kurt added, "You can't just go storming up there like this!"

"Plus, we need to make sure you're not going to die of a brain-injury, okay…?" Blaine turned to the Tweedles, who had been watching the entire exchange with gleeful expressions mirrored on both of their faces, and handed Shane over to them. "Ethan and Evan are going to get you set up on a couch in the den…please, try not to get into _too_ much trouble for a few hours, yeah? And then, and _only then_, can you go see Reed."

Shane could barely contain his excitement, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, but managed to give Blaine a nod of acknowledgment before the two blondes dragged him from the room.

"Good Givenchy, what have we gotten ourselves into here…?" Kurt pondered to the ceiling as Blaine returned to his side and pulled him over to the table, where they sat facing each other, identical expressions of apprehension on their faces.

"Nothing worse than what we've already dealt with…though who on earth thought it was a good idea to put Shane in Windsor will all this mess–" he gestured around the room vaguely, "I want checked by a mental health professional."

"So it's true?" called a voice from the doorway. They both whipped around to see Charlie leaning against the door frame, much the way Blaine had been doing just days prior, holding a soda can loosely in one hand. "We have a new house member?"

"Yeah…" Blaine sighed wearily, "…my brother, Shane."

"Then not all rumors I hear in these halls are false." Charlie cracked an unusual smile as he sat in the chair beside Kurt and clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, this should be interesting."

"Why are you acting so cavalier about this?" Kurt had to ask, for their usually-strict prefect seemed to be taking the news of another rowdy, insane boy under his roof rather well.

Charlie shrugged noncommittally and took a sip of his drink, turning his gaze to the window above the sink. Kurt stared at him for a moment, then decided that line of questioning wasn't worth the trouble and glanced back at his boyfriend.

"So you think Shane could screw up our mission?"

"Oh, I don't know about that…" Charlie chimed in, looking over at Kurt with a small smile, "having him involved may make things work out better than we'd hoped for."

"Huh?"

"Well, think about it," Charlie explained calmly, always the voice of reason, "we've been trying to get Reed out of his room, right? But with Shane here, we won't need to. Just send Shane in, once he's recovered from that _injury_ of his–" at that, both Blaine and Kurt cringed guiltily, "–and let things fall where they may. With Shane here to clear everything up, Reed will venture out of his room on his own, and we may find him back to his normal, clumsy self within days."

Another meaningful glance passed between Kurt and Blaine, and Kurt groaned. "Why didn't _we_ think of that?"

Blaine whipped out his phone and typed up a quick message to the other members of Windsor, quickly checking to make sure Reed and Shane weren't included in the list before sending it out.

**EMERGENCY MEETING AT HAN'S, 10 MINUTES. OPERATION: DORMOUSE IS GO. SECRECY IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE. **

– **Blaine**

Kurt heard the Tweedles phones beep in the other room as he, Blaine, and Charlie all hurried from the kitchen and up the stairs to the one room of the house Kurt had only visited once.

**::::::::::**

The Tweedles left Shane on the couch to play with his phone, but only after threatening him with bodily harm if he moved even one inch on the couch. Resigned to his solitude on the left-most lumpy cushion, he played 10 games of solitaire, checked his email twice, and watched as many YouTube videos as his battery life would allow…but that could only keep the agitated boy entertained for so long, and after 2 hours of dead silence in the usually chaotic Windsor house, Shane's eyelids began to droop.

_I know I'm not supposed to sleep, _he thought with a mental groan, _but man am I tired…_

He reclined back against the cushions and let his eyes fall closed, his mind drifting instantly toward unconsciousness. _Five minutes won't kill me, _he assured himself just before drifting off.

He woke to the sounds of boys yelling over each other, and what seemed to be the clangs of several cast iron pots and pans, emanating from the open kitchen door. Through the doorframe, he could just barely make out the backs of several boys, clad in their pajamas, mobbing around a tall boy with auburn hair at the stove.

He groaned and sat up, looking around in a post-sleep haze, his head throbbing slightly. He had to squint his eyes as he glanced to the window, so he figured that he must have slept through the night on the sofa – which was further evidenced by the blanket that had been thrown haphazardly over his legs, the pillow scrunched up beside him with a dent the shape of his head, and the steaming cup of coffee that was sitting on the coffee table in front of him.

Well, _crap_. That meant he must have missed his chance to see Reed last night…

_But_, he told himself as he climbed slowly to his feet and stretched his arms over his head, _on the bright side, your brain didn't melt out of your ears in your sleep, and today is a new day! You can start fresh!_

Oh yes, today would definitely be the day that everything changed for the better.

Right after pancakes.

**::::::::::**

**A/N: **

**So, part three! 3x as long as the last two chapters! Hope it was worth the wait! As always, please review! **


	4. Intervening

**A/N:**

**Finally! Part 4 of my Reed/Shane madness is finished! XD**

**As always, I DON'T OWN DALTON – Dalton is the wonderful work of CP Coulter, AKA Monique Dimanlig! Please go read her wonderful work and show her your support! I am nothing but a lowly fan!  
**

**Reed Van Kamp, Shane Anderson, Micah Randall, Ethan & Evan Brightman, Charlie Amos, Dwight Houston, and Han Westwood are all the property of CP Coulter. **

**Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, David Sullivan, and Wes Hughes are the property of Ryan Murphy and Fox, as is _Glee_ – the wonderful TV show that started it all. **

**Enjoy!**

**EDIT: This chapter is dedicated to my friend Cara, who just celebrated her 19th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CARA!  
**

**::::::::::**

**The Aftermath:**

**Part 4 – Intervening**

**::::::::::**

_Shane woke to the sounds of boys yelling over each other, and what seemed to be the clangs of several cast iron pots and pans, emanating from the open kitchen door. Through the doorframe, he could just barely make out the backs of several boys, clad in their pajamas, mobbing around a tall boy with auburn hair at the stove._

_He groaned and sat up, looking around in a post-sleep haze, his head throbbing slightly. He had to squint his eyes as he glanced to the window, so he figured that he must have slept through the night on the sofa – which was further evidenced by the blanket that had been thrown haphazardly over his legs, the pillow scrunched up beside him with a dent the shape of his head, and the steaming cup of coffee that was sitting on the coffee table in front of him._

_Well, crap. That meant he must have missed his chance to see Reed last night…_

_But, he told himself as he climbed slowly to his feet and stretched his arms over his head, on the bright side, your brain didn't melt out of your ears in your sleep, and today is a new day! You can start fresh!_

_Oh yes, today would definitely be the day that everything changed for the better._

_Right after pancakes._

**::::::::::  
**

With a full breakfast fit for a king sitting heavily in his stomach, prepared by the able hands of one Kurt Hummel, Shane found himself feeling renewed and could hardly contain himself from flitting around the kitchen, pestering the other Windsor boys – his new family! – until they nearly banned him from the house for the day.

It was only after Kurt threatened to keep him from seeing Reed that Shane relented and forced himself to sit as still as he could manage while the other boys finished cleaning up the kitchen and then headed off to enjoy their Saturday morning.

"Blaaaaine…" Shane whined at his brother when he felt he had suffered through quite enough, "I've been good, haven't I? _Pleasepleaseplease _lemme go see Reed now!" With his usual flare for the dramatic, Shane dropped from his chair to the ground at Blaine's feet and tugged desperately at Blaine's pajama pants, pushing out his lip in an over-the-top pout until Blaine couldn't stand to look at him any longer.

After a quick glance at Kurt, who grinned at his predicament and shot him a wink, Blaine tossed his arms in the air in defeat and wriggled his way out of his brother's vice-like grip. "FINE! Fine! You can go see him! Just…give Kurt and me a couple minutes to finish here and we'll take you up to his room."

At those words, Shane was practically exploding with excitement and started to waltz around the room by himself, still managing to look graceful despite the oddness of the situation. Kurt just laughed at his antics and he and Blaine made quick work of drying the dishes and placing them all back in their respective cabinets.

"Alright, Shane, _alright!"_ Blaine called to his brother, raising his voice to be heard over the song Shane was currently singing to himself as he twirled around the kitchen table. "SHANE! Let's _go!" _He grabbed the back of Shane's hoodie and dragged the taller boy out the door towards the stairs.

"No, wait!" Shane pulled away as they passed the couch he had spent the night on and jogged over to his bag, pulling out his Dalton uniform with a grin. "Gimme a minute to put this on? I've got to make a good impression, right?" Blaine just raised an eyebrow at his brother and shooed him toward the bathroom with a wave of his hand. Shane's grin widened and he darted from the room to change.

"Say, Blaine…?" Kurt asked over his shoulder, and he turned to face his boyfriend, his frown slipping easily into a smile as he took in the endearingly confused look on the pale boy's face.

"Hm?" He hummed as his arms wrapped around the countertenor's waist.

"Does Shane have a room yet? I mean, they gave me a room assignment the day I arrived, and Shane's been here for more than a day already…" He worried his bottom lip between his teeth as he pondered the situation, his eyes not quite focusing on Blaine's face. "He crashed on the sofa last night, but that was purely accidental…so, where's he going to stay from now on?"

"I–…I don't actually know," Blaine admitted, his frown returning as he turned his thoughts to the situation as well. "He is definitely _not_ staying with me, that's for sure!" He stated adamantly, his face settling into such a determined look that Kurt had to choke back a wave of laughter.

"No, that would be…dangerous, knowing you two. Besides, I've been practically living in your room for the last week anyway…" He blushed slightly and ducked his head at his own words, his eyes gazing down at the floor under his feet.

"Is–…is that what you want, Kurt?" Blane raised one hand to tilt his boyfriend's face up to his, meeting his blue eyes with a steady gaze. "Do you want to move in with me?"

Kurt froze and let the question sink in, his eyes widening slightly in shock. "I–" He paused and took a deep breath before continuing. "…yeah. Yes, I do." He nodded resolutely, a small smile crossing his lips to mirror the one adorning Blaine's.

"Kurt…" The way Blaine murmured his name caused his stomach to leap and he wound his arms around the shorter boy's neck, pulling him forward slightly to press a gentle kiss to his lips.

"Ahem."

They broke apart quickly, turning around to see Shane standing at the foot of the stairs, now properly dressed in his Dalton uniform. Kurt eyed the boy from head to toe and had to admit that although Shane was much more rough and untamed than Blaine, he looked just as good in the fitted uniform as his older brother did. The dark blue blazer complimented his skin tone just as it did for Blaine, and it hugged his strong, dancer's body like a glove. The gray pants made him look even taller than before, if that was even possible, and Kurt found himself raising an eyebrow in approval.

"Huh. Not bad." He admitted out loud, and Blaine shot him an incredulous look. "What?" He asked as he caught the expression on his boyfriend's face, "He looks good. Better than I do, for sure!"

Blaine scoffed at that, and they bickered back and forth about the merits of the Dalton uniforms as they led the way up the stairs, Shane trailing after them with a small smile on his lips, both because of the compliment Kurt had paid him, and the boy he knew was waiting at the top of that staircase.

He glanced down at the blazer buttoned across his broad chest, his fingers tracing over the blue and gold Windsor pin on his lapel as he lost himself in thoughts; he was so engrossed in said thoughts that he didn't notice when Blaine and Kurt suddenly stopped talking, and was completely unaware of his brother pulling out a cell phone and sending out a quick message to the rest of their friends.

**The Bat is on the move.  
– Blaine**

Not moments later, he received succinct replies from both Han and David.

**caterpillar on L.O. –HAN**

**Hatter in position to strike  
~Dave**

Blaine smiled and nudged Kurt as they arrived in front of the room he used to share with Reed.

"Well, here we are, Shane!" Kurt said, his tone almost too cheerful, though Shane took no notice. He was suddenly looking nervous as he stared at the door, his hands fidgeting with his tie, which suddenly felt too tight.

"_Shane_. Shaaaane…" Blaine waved his hand in front of his brother's face, looking exasperated. "Oh, for the love of–!" He shoved Shane in front of the door, then took Kurt's hand and pulled him back toward what would not be _their_ room. "Good luck, bro!" He called over his shoulder before they disappeared into their room and closed the door behind them with a definite snap.

**Alice and the Rabbit signing off.**  
–**Blaine **

Blaine sent out one last message, alerting the others that he and Kurt had fulfilled their role, then pulled Kurt over to his bed. Two chimes from his phone alerted them to the arrival of further messages, and Kurt groaned loudly in frustration.

**The Bat is stalling, Herr Rabbit.  
~Tweedle Dum**

**The Dormouse is silent, Herr Rabbit.  
~Tweedle Dee**

Shane stared at the door for several minutes, fidgeting nervously with his tie and the buttons of his blazer, which suddenly felt stifling despite the comfortable temperature the Windsor house was constantly kept at. After gulping down several deep breaths and mentally berating himself for being weak, he moved his hand robotically up to knock firmly on Reed's door and waited for an answer.

And waited.

And continued to wait.

Finally, his impulsiveness getting the better of him, he tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. After the briefest moment of indecision, he pushed the door open and peeked his head inside.

At first glance, the room seemed to be empty…though really, it was hard to tell if anyone was hiding beneath the scattered piles of clothing and canvases and trash that littered the usually immaculately clean space.

"Reed?" He called out nervously, glancing around for any sign of movement; when he received no answer, he moved further into the room, tiptoeing around the piles of clothing that had accumulated by the foot of the spare bed closest to the door.

He jumped as a sudden _thunk_ from behind him caught his attention and he whipped his head around just in time to see a pair of hands slam the door shut and hear a loud chorus of laughter echo down the hall.

"Damn it!" He swore to himself as he tried to pull the door open, but it was futile – someone had managed to quite effectively wedge the door shut _from the outside. _There were only two people in the world who Shane knew that could manage such a task.

"_Ethan, Evan, when I get out of here, I'm going to skin you alive…"_ he grumbled under his breath as he let his forehead drop against the door. Barely three seconds later, he heard his phone chime and he pulled it from his pocket to see that he had 2 new messages.

**No, you won't, Mr. Bat. You'll be thanking us soon enough.  
~Tweedle Dee**

**Take the gift we've given you, Mr. Bat. You can thank us tomorrow.  
~Tweedle Dum**

"Ugh!" He threw his hands in the air in a manner reminiscent of his older brother and turned his back to the door, his eyes scanning over the room suspiciously. He was apprehensive to find out what 'gift' the twins were going on about, especially after his birthday 2 years when his eyebrows had been burned off on 'accident.'

Just then, he heard a soft squeak from the bed against the far wall that drew his attention. "Hello…?"  
He called across the room as he slowly started moving across the rather dangerous looking floor again. "Reed, is that you…?"

"…y-yes…" Came the tentative reply, so quiet that he almost couldn't hear it. He squinted at the bed, trying to find Reed amid the mess, and finally settled on a lump under the blankets that seemed to be moving slightly and appeared to be the approximate shape and size of a small teenage boy.

He kneeled down by the edge of the bed, the situation oddly reminiscent of the morning after his rescue, and reached up to tug the blankets away with an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

The tears streaming down Reed's face from wide, chocolate eyes startled him, and Shane felt his heart sink at the sight. Without a second thought, he reached up to tug Reed toward him, the small teen remaining limp in his arms until he was laying half off the bed, his side pressed tightly to Shane's chest.

Shane slid his fingers into Reed's strawberry-blonde curls to hold him close as the boy sobbed against his chest, and not knowing what else to do, he began to sing softly.

"…_Making my way downtown, walking fast…faces pass and I'm homebound…" _

Reed, through his sobs, recognized the opening lines the Vanessa Carlton song, and his heart began to ache all over again. It sounded strange but beautiful in Shane's smooth tenor, not quite as flawless as his brother's voice, but still so lovely that it caused Reed's breath to hitch in his chest. He hated himself for sobbing so loudly and buried his face in Shane's shirt to stifle the noise, straining his ears to listen better as Shane continued.

"…_staring blankly ahead, just making my way, making my way through the crowd…" _

It was quite a different rendition of the song than Reed had heard blasting from the radio for over half of his life, soft and acoustic.

"…_and I need you….and I miss you…and now I wonder…."_

Shane's voice was lovelier than he had previously credited it to be, and the gentle words caused his sobs to increase. Shane patted his back softly with one hand while the other stroked his hair and continued to sing, raising his voice slightly so that Reed could still hear him.

Reed hated this. He hated all of it, this whole damn situation. Not being held by the taller boy, for sure…it was the most amazing thing he'd felt for a long time, and it started Reed to know just how much he had missed being held like this since New Years.

No, it wasn't being _held_ that bothered the Van Kamp heir…it was more that he was disgusted with himself for falling so _hard_ for Shane, and hated the way the strong arms around him made him feel safe. He wanted to slap himself for loving Shane, when he knew it was already over, he had already lost. Maybe there had never been a chance for him in the first place...Micah was Shane's first love, and he'd never be able to compete with that.

"…_if I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass me by…?"_

He mentally screamed at the next lines of the song as Shane sung them softly in his ear.

"…_cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you…tonight…"_

_No, no you wouldn't!_ Reed's mind yelled, and he fisted his hands into the cloth covering the expanse of Shane's broad shoulders. Shane's hands held him even closer, almost pulling him off the bed altogether as he continued singing, _"…it's always times like these when I think of you, and I wonder if you ever think of me…"_

"…o-of course I t-think of y-you, Shane…" He mumbled, not realizing he had voiced his thoughts aloud, and felt the younger Anderson brother smile against his hair.

"…_everything's so wrong, and I don't belong…living in your precious memories…"_

He continued to cry desperately, losing focus on the words and letting himself sink into the sound of the music and the painful throbbing of his heart beneath his ribs, only realizing that Shane had almost finished the song when he sang the last few lines directly into Reed's ear.

"…_if I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass us by…? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles…if I could just see you…tonight…"_

He mustered up enough energy to pull away from Shane slightly, feeling a set of bright green eyes on his face but not quite meeting their gaze.

"…_if I could fall into the sky, do you think time would pass us by…? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles…"_

Shane relaxed his grip on Reed's curls as he felt the other boy pulling away and stroked his cheek softly, practically whispering the last line of the song as he stared up at what he considered to be nothing short of an angel sitting above him.

"…_If I could just see you…if I could just _hold_ you…tonight…"_

Red streaks adorned Reed's cheeks from where he had been crying previously and a wave of fresh tears threatening to fall from his golden-brown eyes as he looked anywhere but into Shane's intense gaze. Shane took a moment to really look at him for the first time in a week, and his heart broke at the sight.

Reed looked _awful._

He was dressed haphazardly in an overlarge T-shirt and a pair of shorts that Shane could only assume belonged to any other Windsor boy than the one sitting in front of him; they didn't seem to fit him quite right, they were definitely _not_ designer, and he had never seen Reed dressed so…_plain_.

The small teen's hair was a tangled mess and specks of paint freckled his blonde curls, though they still looked like a halo around his face in the light from the window. More paint was splattered across his cheeks and down the front of his shirt, and there were several Band-Aids plastered to his chin and the side of his neck. More concerning, though were the deep purple rings under his eyes, in stark contrast with his pale skin – the boy clearly hadn't been sleeping, and Shane's heart gave a heavy ache at the sight. He shifted his hands to cup Reed's cheeks and stroked his thumbs along those dark shadows, feeling Reed's soft, cool skin beneath his warm hands.

"Oh,_ Reed…"_ He murmured, startling Reed slightly. "What _happened_ to you…?"

At the soft words, so filled with concern, Reed finally raised his eyes to meet Shane's emerald ones, and felt his heart breaking all over again. Shane's gaze was swimming with affection and what Reed could only describe as complete _adoration,_ and he nearly started to cry at the sight. Finding himself incapable of speech, he just shrugged his small shoulders noncommittally and ducked his head, unable to look at Shane's handsome face any longer.

"Hey now…there's no use lying to me," he heard Shane whisper, and felt a gentle set of fingertips under his chin, tilting his head back up so that he was forced to meet Shane's gaze again. "…I may be all kinds of stupid, but I know you, Reed…and _this_–" He tilted his head toward the chaos surrounding them, "–isn't your usual brand of crazy."

Reed bit his lip. Oh, _damn_ that boy for being so observant at the worst of times!

"Please, tell me what's got you so upset… " Shane urged him, more gently.

_This is it_, he thought. _I guess I can't hide anymore._

"…y-you." He squeaked out finally, his eyes filling with tears.

Shane looked genuinely taken aback by that.

"M**-**_Me?_ I–…" He floundered silently for a moment, and Reed would have laughed at his expression if he hadn't been currently trying not to burst into hysterical tears and duck back under his blankets for the rest of his life. "…I don't get it." Shane finally finished, and tilted his head in a rather adorable manner.

"Why have you destroyed your room over me?" He continued. "I mean, _my_ room is going to look like this after a few days, but really…Reed, your _artwork!_ What did it ever do to you?"

Again, he had to bite back a laugh and mentally cursed Shane for being funny at the worst moments. Then one part of Shane's statement hit him, and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Y-_Your_ room…?" He asked in a small, shaky voice, and his eyes dropped to the Dalton uniform Shane was wearing, noticing it for the first time. "…y-you mean...you're–…?"

Shane noticed his gaze and nodded enthusiastically, pulling his hands away from Reed's face to pop his collar out with a grin. "Yep! I'm a Windsor boy now!" He pointed proudly to the blue and gold pin on his lapel.

Reed gaped at him for a moment, then his face fell into a deep, sorrowful look and he pulled his knees up to his chest, hiding his body from Shane.

"Hey–…h-hey…what–…Reed?" Shane seemed surprised by Reed's reaction and let out a soft grunt under his breath as he pulled himself to his feet and moved to sit beside Reed, but kept his hands at his sides, clearly afraid of upsetting the small teen further. "…what's wrong? I thought you'd be happy about this!"

The expression on Shane's face was just too crestfallen for Reed to look at any further, and he forced his eyes away.

"Did**–**…did I make a mistake in coming here, Reed…?" He heard Shane ask softly, his broken-sounding voice making Reed's chest tighten uncomfortably. " I**–**…I seriously thought you'd be happy about it, b-but**–**…if I've upset you, I can–"

"No, it's a-awesome." Reed interrupted him, and turned his head away dismissively. "Really."

"Then why do you look like I just _killed your dog?"_

Reed sniffed at that. As _if_ anyone could hurt Coco.

"I _don't_. It's a-awesome you're here…Windsor is l-lucky to have y-you." He was unable to keep the sadness from his voice, but he forced himself to smile at Shane.

Shane wasn't buying it in the slightest.

"Reed…" He began, but Reed beat him to the punch, words spilling out of his mouth before he could control them.

"It's just _a_-_awesome_. You're h-here…you've g-got M–…_Micah_ back now, and everything is great! You found your l-lost boyfriend, and I–…I'm r-really happy for you! I'm s-sure the twins have a-already filled your room with something crazy, like tutus or whatever, and…and it's g-going to be crazy around here for a week or so, but things w-will settle down and you'll like it here, I j-just know it! It–…it's just g–going to be _awesome."_

It took all of the willpower Shane possessed not to silence Reed with a kiss right then. How he wanted to – _good Godric, how he wanted to_ – but he restrained himself. This was _Reed. _Reed, the sweet, innocent boy he fell in love with, and Shane knew he'd have to get this right.

"Reed, you–…you're upset because of _Micah_…?" He asked after a moment, looking bewildered.

Reed ducked his head against his knees to hide his face, but forced himself to give a little nod in reply.

A pair of strong arms wrapped around his body and he found himself being pulled into Shane's lap. He let out a small, indignant squeak, but couldn't muster the energy to fight his way free, so he gave up and let his head fall against Shane's chest.

_Great, now he's pitying me,_ Reed thought bitterly as his ear settled over Shane's heart and he heard the steady thrumming of it beating beneath his ribs.

"Oh Reed, " Shane sighed as his large hands encased Reed's slight form in a tight embrace, "what am I going to do with you?"

Reed suddenly found his lips moving without his permission, blurting out words he never intended to admit to himself, let alone say out loud.

"…y-you–…you made me fall in love with you…and then you just disappeared…!" He shuddered slightly and tears began to fall from his eyes again as he continued with abandon, "…I know I s-should be happy for you and M-Micah, and m-maybe this is h-how things are supposed to be–…but I c-can't help t-thinking I missed my chance all those weeks ago…! I d-didn't know how I felt then, b–…b-but I know now, and I don't think I'll be able to see you here, with him, every day…having you l-live down the hall–…"

He couldn't continue. The ache in his heart had spread to the rest of his body and his chest tightened until the words stopped leaving his lips, much to his intense relief. He was quite sure he'd never blushed so painfully in his life.

Shane was silent for a long moment, his body tense beneath Reed's, and Reed nearly pulled away from him before he heard Shane speak in a strained whisper.

"You love me…?"

Reed hid his face further into Shane's blazer at the question, his face and chest burning with mortification.

"…you–…you _love_ me, Reed…?" Shane continued, his hands tightening as much as they could around Reed's waist. He had never been so damn _elated_ in his life, and his heart fluttered so fast at the thought that he was sure he'd die. The rest of Reed's words had been lost on him, his mind zeroing in on that one word until it was the only thing in the world that mattered. _Love_. Reed _loved_ him.

Reed remained silent, and Shane felt the other teen's tears drip through his shirt, breaking him away from his thoughts. "Reed–…oh, Reed…"

He pushed Reed's body away so that he could gaze down at the boy's face, his own brow furrowing at the sight of Reed's fresh tears. "Please, please…don't cry…" His fingers raised to Reed's cheeks and he gently brushed the tears away. "Don't you understand…?

Reed managed to shake his head, his eyes trying desperately to find something else to focus on as he mentally berated himself for being so weak, again. Shane sighed softly, and Reed felt himself cringe. _Well, here it comes_, he thought, _he's going to tell me I'm stupid and that he's over me…_

"_I love you,_ Reed Van Kamp." Shane said, each word filled with as much conviction as he could muster.

Reed froze in his arms, his eyes widening in complete shock.

"…wh–…what…?" He stuttered out, finally turning his gaze back to meet Shane's. Shane smiled at him broadly, his bright eyes shining with happiness.

"I love you!" He repeated, his tone suggesting that it was the most obvious thing in the world. Reed felt as though his entire body had gone numb.

"…w-what–…b-but I–…_Micah_?" He heard himself ask, and would have cringed at the desperate tone of his voice if he'd been capable of moving at all.

Shane just laughed softly and ruffled the back of Reed's hair. "Micah was my _past_, Reed…" He leaned forward to press his lips to Reed's forehead, then continued, "…we were kids, and he was my first love…"

Somehow, Reed didn't feel comforted by those words, and Shane seemed to notice the look on his face, continuing hurriedly, "…but I didn't know what love _really _meant until I met _you_." His smile widened slightly and ne nudged his nose against Reed's. "Everything else pales in comparison."

Reed would have fallen over if Shane's strong arms hadn't been wrapped securely around his middle. "…b-but you–…you l-left with him…" he mumbled, not daring to give in to the glimmer of hope he had felt at Shane's declaration. His heart thrummed heavily in his ears as he waited for Shane's reply.

Shane was momentarily confused by the question. Oh. _OH_. So _that's_ what Reed had been so upset about? He had to fight down the urge to hit himself for his own stupidity.

"I–…honestly, I was beyond shocked to see him. I truly thought I'd never see him again…and then there he was, alive and unharmed!" He frowned slightly at the memory of the night that Micah had disappeared, and the worry both he and Blaine had felt for the boy…who knew what their father could have done to him!

He shook his head to shoo the thoughts away. "…Micah wanted to talk to me, you know…so, I spent a few days with him, catching up and just–…just goofing off together, like old times." Reed stiffened at those words, and Shane was quick to add, "We _talked_, Reed…I swear that's all. Just two old friends reminiscing." Reed slowly relaxed in his arms, and Shane felt comfortable moving on with his story.

"…he did tell me that he still has feelings for me, but I made it clear that I didn't feel the same way…not anymore."

Reed's eyes lit up with hope, and the sight almost made Shane melt. Reed had never looked so beautiful to Shane than he did, right there in that moment, wearing a t-shirt 4 sizes too big for him and covered in paint, sitting in Shane's arms with such incredulous _hope_ written all over his lovely face.

"I'm sure I spent a good while day telling him all about you, and how I feel about you…I could tell he was pretty broken up about it, but Micah's a good guy and he congratulated me…" The end of Shane's story drifted off as he continued to stare down at Reed, but Reed hardly noticed, his mind too fuzzy with happiness and his heart thrumming so fast in his chest he thought it might force him to fly out the window at any moment.

"S-Shane…" He murmured, and Shane raised a large hand to cup his cheek gently, his skin feeling impossibly warm against Reed's own.

"…Reed…can I–" He paused, suddenly hesitant, and Reed raised an eyebrow at him. "…would it be alright if–…if I kissed you…right now…?"

Reed was amazed he didn't die _right then._

It took him several stunned seconds to gather his wits, his eyes as wide as dinner plates and his blush so deep he resembled a cherry, but he gave a shaky nod and let his eyelids flutter closed, his hands clenching into the lapels of Shane's blazer.

He heard Shane take a deep, shuddering breath…and a moment later, a pair of soft, warm lips brushed against his own. A hazy, stunned thought that ended with _wonderful _crossed his mind before he shifted closer to press his lips more firmly to Shane's, feeling the taller boy's hands wind into his hair and hold him there firmly.

Shane struggled to keep the kiss soft and simple, not wanting to overwhelm the other boy, and pulled back slightly to part his lips from Reed's after only a few long seconds. Their noses brushed softly as he moved, and he opened his eyes to watch Reed silently, taking in his expression with a small grin. Reed simply looked awestruck, his eyelashes fluttering softly against his blushing cheeks, and Shane couldn't help but lean back in to press their lips together once more.

Reed inhaled deeply and wound his arms around Shane's neck to pull him closer, a soft moan leaving his throat before he could stifle it, and Shane let his tongue drift tentatively against Reed's lower lip.

Before Reed could respond, a loud beeping noise suddenly reached their ears, startling them apart. Reed looked around wildly, confused and slightly shaken up by the interruption, his cheeks tinted a bright pink.

His eyes settled on his phone that he had discarded on his bedside table some days prior, which was currently flashing at him obnoxiously, alerting him to the arrival of a new text message. He groaned softly and reached over to grab it, while Shane took the opportunity to reach into his pocket and check his own phone.

They both looked at each other in confusion as they discovered the 20 simultaneously received messages that were waiting in both of their inboxes.

Reed gave his phone a look of apprehension that made Shane snort softly, earning him a soft smack on the shoulder, and they both opened their inboxes to read the messages together.

**COURAGE!  
*Wes**

**Courage! :D  
~Dave**

**COURAGE. –HAN**

**COURAGE!  
♥ Kurt**

**Courage! ;)**  
– **Blaine**

**COURAGE  
COURAGE  
COURAGE  
~Tweedle Dum**

**COURAGE  
COURAGE  
COURAGE  
~Tweedle Dee**

**courage O.o  
~Dwight**

**Courage.  
xx Charlie**

The list went on and on, but Reed decided not to look through them all and closed his phone, setting it back on his table with a grin.

He looked back over at Shane to find the other boy looking right back at him, and they sat in silence for a moment, their eyebrows raised.

Instantaneously, they burst into hysterical laughter, the hilarity of the situation bringing tears to both of their eyes, and it took several minutes for them to calm down. Reed finally noticed the odd position they were still sitting in and tried to slide off of Shane's lap, but to no avail. Shane clamped his arms down around Reed's waist and pulled him back against his chest, resting his cheek against Reed's head.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going, little one?" He asked with a grin, which earned him an elbow in the ribs. "Ow! Hey, play nice!" He yelped. Reed just smirked and settled himself between Shane's legs.

Shane raised his phone in front of them both and Reed watched as he sent off a chain message that made his ears burn with embarrassment.

**a little late on that one, guys. u missed the big show  
xX Shane**

"Shane!" Reed cried indignantly, and the taller boy laughed softly, his chest shaking against Reed's spine.

"Oh, like they wouldn't find out soon enough."

"But it sounds so…so…_naughty!"_ He dropped his head to his knees to hide his face, not wanting Shane to catch a glimpse of his blush at the thought. Shane just chuckled mischievously and tucked his phone away. A loud chorus of groans echoed through the floor, and Reed's blush darkened even further.

"Oh,_ Givenchy_…I'll _never_ hear the end of this…" he moaned under his breath, his hands covering his face in utter shame.

"They'll get over it soon enough, just relax…" Shane's arms wriggled back around his waist and Reed sighed softly as he felt Shane's lips press against the back of his neck. _That_ was going to take some getting used to.

"_Besides_, it's not like you can do anything about it right now…we're locked in here, after all!"

"WHAT?"

**::::::::::**

**A/N: **

**He he he he he…um, yeah. There you go. Ugh. Took me **_**forever**_** to crank out, sorry! D:**

**The song Shane sang to Reed was, of course, "A Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton…but more like the cover done by Sail By the Stars, a wonderful band with a male lead that sounded a lot like Shane to me. Just imagine _that_ version sung acoustic and you've got what I was thinking. **

**Sorry if that song choice didn't make sense to anyone, but it came up on my iTunes shuffle and it just…**_**fit**_**. I'd been struggling like mad to finish that part, but I was **_**hopelessly**_** stuck until that song popped up, and then it all fell into place!**

**Hope it was worth the wait! Please, review! ****  
**


	5. Rescuing

**A/N:**

**Thanks so very much to all of you who're sticking with me through this! I can't believe how much people seem to like this stupid headcannon crap I wrote…**

**As always, I DON'T OWN DALTON – Dalton is the wonderful work of CP Coulter, AKA Monique Dimanlig! Please go read her wonderful work and show her your support! I am nothing but a lowly fan!**

**Reed Van Kamp, Shane Anderson, Micah Randall, Ethan & Evan Brightman, Charlie Amos, Dwight Houston, Han Westwood, Drew Mapleton, Satoru Kogo, and Todd Hendricks are all the property of CP Coulter. **

**Blaine Anderson, Kurt Hummel, David Sullivan, and Wes Hughes are the property of Ryan Murphy and Fox, as is _Glee_ – the wonderful TV show that started it all. **

**Enjoy!**

**::::::::::**

**The Aftermath:**

**Part 5 – Rescuing**

**::::::::::**

_"Shane!" Reed cried indignantly, and the taller boy laughed softly, his chest shaking against Reed's spine._

_"Oh, like they wouldn't find out soon enough."_

_"But it sounds so…so…naughty!" He dropped his head to his knees to hide his face, not wanting Shane to catch a glimpse of his blush at the thought. Shane just chuckled mischievously and tucked his phone away. A loud chorus of groans echoed through the floor, and Reed's blush darkened even further._

_"Oh, Givenchy…I'll never hear the end of this…" he moaned under his breath, his hands covering his face in utter shame._

_"They'll get over it soon enough, just relax…" Shane's arms wriggled back around his waist and Reed sighed softly as he felt Shane's lips press against the back of his neck. That was going to take some getting used to._

_"Besides, it's not like you can do anything about it right now…we're locked in here, after all!"_

_"WHAT?"_

**::::::::::**

_GO AWAY._

"Han!" Evan called as he and his brother pounded on the secluded Windsor's door. Between them, the LED screen bolted to the door was flashing furiously at them, but they ignored it pointedly and continued to knock, already knowing full well what it said.

_YOU ARE NOT WELCOME._

"Haaaan…" As the message changed, Ethan paused in his knocking and cooed to the door sweetly, fluttering his eyelashes at the camera he knew to be hidden above them.

Evan stopped knocking as well and mirrored his brother's expression, both looking as innocent as they could manage. "…let us in, Han…_please_."

"We just want to see you, Caterpillar. Your Tweedles miss you." They chorused, their hands pressing eagerly to the door. They smiled up at the camera with wide, endearing eyes for a few more moments before the message on the screen changed again.

_ONE MOMENT._

Their faces broke into identical grins as they stepped back from the door and waited patiently for it to open with a soft hiss, not even shivering as they stepped through the fog at their feet into the dark space. They approached Han in the darkness with practiced ease, instinctively stepping over the cables that lined the floor and moving up behind Han's computer chair to stand at his sides.

"Hello, Caterpillar." They sighed softly as they each wrapped an arm around the boy's shoulders and pressed their cheeks to each of his.

"Hello, Tweedles." He answered, his voice betraying his nerves, and raised a hand to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

"We have a question for you…" Ethan began as he twisted his body around Han's chair and perched lightly on Han's knee, his ice-blue eyes staring down at the boy beneath him of him intently.

Han gulped.

"Oh yes, Han…you should be afraid." Evan continued from his place at Han's shoulder, his breath warm against the side of the computer geek's pale throat. "You disappointed us."

"H–…H-How…?" Han asked timidly, his voice cracking slightly.

"You know how, Caterpillar." They both whispered as they shifted closer at the same time, sending a shiver down Han's spine. "You abandoned your post."

"I–I was just…just trying to give them some privacy–" He began, but was cut off by a finger pressing to his lips.

"You fell through on your end of the bargain." Ethan murmured in Han's left ear.

"You left us stranded." Evan added, his lips brushing against Han's right.

"Our plan was ruined." Ethan continued, his fingers curling around Han's wrist, pulling his hand away from his mouse before he could call out for help.

"And we don't take disappointment lightly." They finished together, their tone dropping menacingly.

Oh shit.

**::::::::::**

"Hey guys…" Blaine stuck his head out of his bedroom door, his hair slightly tousled and the front of his shirt unbuttoned and thoroughly rumpled. "What's that sme–_Oh, shit._ Why is Reed's door _smoking?"_

"What?" Wes called from his own open door, peeking his head out a moment later. "Oh, hey Blaine. That's a nice look you've got goin' there." He added with a smirk as he caught sight of Blaine's disheveled appearance. "You and Kurt finally breaking in your bed?"

"Shut up, Wes!" They heard Kurt call from inside the room behind Blaine, and Wes smirked wider, his brows wiggling suggestively.

"Dude, now is not the time," Blaine retorted, fighting back a blush, "Look at _that!" _He gestured to the door across the hall from where he was standing, which was starting to smoke around the edges and letting off a slight odor. "What the _hell_ is _that?"_

To the members of Windsor house, a little smoke now and again wasn't a terribly alarming sight, but the smoke currently coming from around Reed's door was _definitely _not part of the plan, and Blaine was _definitely_ worried.

David and appeared by his shoulder, looking interested by all the commotion, while Wes left his doorway and approached the scene as well.

"Hey Blaine…what's going on?" Kurt asked from behind him, placing his hands on his boyfriend's hips as he joined them, his chin resting on Blaine's shoulder.

"Nice of you to join us, Alice." Wes added with a chuckle, appraising Kurt's equally disheveled appearance with an even wider grin than before.

Kurt ignored him pointedly and frowned deeply as he stared at the door to his (former) dorm room. "Is the room on fire again?"

Before Blaine could answer his boyfriend, another Windsor boy, Kyle, who was just joining the crowd, interrupted him.

"You know that door's letting off smoke, right?" Kyle asked with an all-too-excited grin while brushing his overlong bangs from his eyes to get a better look.

"Why _no_, none of us had noticed, actually." Blaine shot back sarcastically. "We were all just admiring the _woodwork_."

"Hey, hey…no need to be like that," the boy said defensively, raising his hands in defeat. "It was just a question."

"Guys, what the hell is going on up here?" They heard Charlie ask from behind David on the stairs, and they all looked around at him. "Wha–…_WHY THE HELL IS THAT DOOR ON FIRE?"_ He bellowed as he caught sight of the smoke, bounding up the last few steps and pushing the other boys out of the way to get a better look.

"It's not _on fire_, per se." Todd answered conversationally as he popped up behind Wes, looking mildly amused by the whole situation, "It's more like…fuming."

"Oh _WELL,_ that makes everything better then, doesn't it?" Charlie cried exasperatedly, throwing his arms in the air exasperatedly. "Everything's fine and dandy as long as the door is only _fuming._"

"Exactly!" David chimed in, "That's a pretty minor problem around here, wouldn't you say?" He leaned toward Wes and they both chuckled knowingly.

Charlie started to thump his head against the wall.

"Just don't tell Dwight about it," Todd whispered conspiratorially to Kurt, who grinned back at him. "Fuming doors might send him on another one of his 'cleansing' rampages, and we all remember how the last one went…"

"Okay, okay, guys…something's gotta be done about this." Blaine said, stepping up to take over for Charlie with a defeated look on his face. "We can't just leave Reed and my brother in there with the door doing–…_that. _We don't even know if it's dangerous." He looked around at the small crowd that had gathered with a deepening frown. "Has anyone seen the Tweedles? I'm sure they've got something to do with this."

"Way ahead of you, bro." David chimed in while holding up his phone. "They're not answering their cells."

Blaine dropped his head into his hands, groaning in frustration, and then popped back up so suddenly that he made Kurt jump behind him. "Okay! Okay, someone get Drew down here to take a look." David snapped to attention and gave him a silly little salute before pushing his way through the ever-growing crowd to get to the stairs.

"Bring Satoru with you!" Blaine called after him as an afterthought, "They've got some explaining to do."

**::::::::::**

Two hours later, Shane found himself watching silently as Reed paced back and forth across his room, jumping to his feet occasionally to catch the smaller boy as he tripped on a paintbrush or a canvas or one of the piles of designer clothes that littered the floor.

After one particularly close call involving the trashcan and a still-drying painting, Shane decided that Reed's panic attack had gone on long enough and pulled the boy into his arms, holding him tightly so that he couldn't move away and pressing a tender kiss into his golden curls.

"Calm down, babe…"

Reed's voice was muffled against Shane's chest, but Shane could still make out his words as he groaned, "Calm down? Calm down? They _cemented _my door shut! It _reeks._"

Shane chuckled softly, which earned him a slap to the chest. "Hey!" he cried out indignantly, though the smile never left his lips, "Be nice…!"

He heard Reed mumble something that sounded like _"Don't tell me what to do…"_ and he couldn't hold back another light laugh. He felt Reed smile slightly through his collared shirt and the boy's small hands curled into the lapels of his blazer; Reed ducked his head to hide his blush even as he pulled Shane closer.

It astounded Reed just how addicting Shane's presence was, now that he could enjoy it without restraint. As Shane's hands twisted securely around his waist and held him closer, Reed couldn't hold back the contented sigh that left his lips.

The moment was ruined as Shane's phone beeped loudly from his pocket. If Reed had been one for swearing, he figured that that would have been the time and place.

Shane almost whimpered as Reed pulled away from him, but he dutifully reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, not missing the scowl Reed shot at the small device as he turned away.

**So, it looks like they're going to have to remove the door.**  
– **Blaine **

A few moments later, the phone vibrated in his hand as another message arrived.

**Gonna take some time, so we'll have to get a ladder and rescue you. :P**  
– **Blaine**

Shane shook his head at his brother's words, then turned back to face Reed, who was typing furiously on his own phone – a distinctly more expensive and well kept model than his own, Shane noticed.

"Nice phone." He commented nonchalantly as he pressed his chest to Reed's back and slid his hands around Reed's waist. As much as Reed enjoyed being close to Shane, he was still a little uncomfortable with all the physical contact – especially when caught by surprise – and jumped slightly at Shane's touch, nearly dropping his phone in the process.

"T-Thank you…" He managed to mumble with one hand pressed to his chest, feeling his heart beat rapidly beneath his fingertips, "It–…it was a gift, from my mother. Nothing but the best for her," his tone grew slightly bitter,"…and by extension, me."

"Ah," Shane replied with a small, understanding nod. Reed returned to what he was typing, and Shane rested his chin against Reed's shoulder as he read along with the conversation.

**CHAT WITH KURT HUMMEL **  
**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**  
**[view previous messages]**  
**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**  
**_Kurt:_**_ Come on, please fill me in! I won't tell anyone!_  
**_Reed:_**_ Lies and slander, Kurt. Lies and slander.  
_**_Kurt:_**_ I am WOUNDED, Reed. _  
**_Reed:_**_ You should be. :P  
_**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Shane laughed at that, his warm breath against the side of Reed's neck making the blonde shiver. Shane pretended not to notice and nuzzled his nose against the sliver of Reed's soft skin that was exposed by his overlarge t-shirt.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**  
**_Kurt:_**_ Please tell me? I'll do ANYTHING._  
**_Reed:_**_ FOR THE LOVE OF PRADA, NOT NOW._  
**_Kurt:_**_ Fine, fine. Go back to making out.  
_**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Reed blushed scarlet and Shane let out a loud laugh, straightening up slightly to rest his chin against Reed's soft curls.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**  
**_Reed:_**_ I'm going to murder you._  
**_Kurt:_**_ Nah, you love me too much for that._  
**_Reed:_**_ I'll revoke your closet privileges._  
**_Kurt:_**_ ….you wouldn't._  
**_Reed:_**_ Try me._  
**_Kurt:_**_ Okay, I'm sorry! No more jokes, I promise.  
_**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

It was Reed's turn to chuckle, and he was about to slide his phone back into his pocket with a pleased smirk when it beeped again, announcing the arrival of another message.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::_  
Kurt:_**_ You can tell me all about it later, after they get you__  
__out._**  
****:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Reed rolled his eyes and sent back a quick reply.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
_Reed:_**_ That won't be for a while. We're kind of CEMENTED in  
here.  
_**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Kurt's response was just a quick, and caught Reed completely by surprise.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
_Kurt:_**_ Wait, didn't anyone tell you? Ethan and Evan are trying__  
__to find a ladder to get to our room right now!_  
**_Reed:_**_ WHAT?_  
**_Kurt:_**_ Yeah, they called out to get a new door about an__  
__hour ago._  
**_Kurt:_**_ You didn't think we'd leave you in there to rot, did__  
__you?_  
**_Reed:_**_ No, I guess not. Well, hopefully they'll get it all done__  
__without attracting too much of a crowd. I look awful, I'm_  
_sure._  
**_Kurt:_**_ Uh oh…Reed, you might want to get cleaned up in__  
__a hurry._  
**_Reed:_**_ Oh no, don't tell me…  
_**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Reed felt his stomach drop into his knees.

**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  
_Kurt:_**_ Yep, there's going to be quite a crowd. Everyone__  
__wants to see you.  
_**:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::**

Reed had to revise his earlier thought – if there was ever a moment for swearing, it would be _NOW_.

Shit. Holy _shit. _

Reed felt faint, and he would have fallen over if Shane hadn't been holding him securely around the waist. Everyone was going to be gathered to see him. And Shane. Him and Shane. Shane and Him. Together.

And currently, Reed looked _homeless._

Okay, so maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still…while Reed hadn't seen himself properly in a mirror properly in a few days, he could practically _feel_ how disgusting he looked.

And Shane had been sitting with him for the last two hours, sitting so close, holding him–...and k-kissing him….

…aannnnd, _how_ long had it been since he'd brushed his teeth properly?

Well, FUCK.

Reed wanted to start crying all over again at the thought. Here he was, spending hours of time curled up with the boy he–…he _loved_…

Wow, thinking _that_ was another think he would have to get used to.

Shane, who had been reading the conversation over the top of Reed's head, felt the smaller boy tense up in his arms and turned him around to look into Reed's golden-brown eyes curiously.

"Reed…what is it?" He asked with an endearing tilt of his head.

Reed ducked his head, suddenly feeling self-conscious and not wanting Shane to get a good look at his face. "I l-look terrible…" He couldn't quite keep the hitch in his breath from reaching his voice, and Shane placed his fingertips beneath Reed's chin, pulling his face up so that their eyes met again.

"No, Reed…you're _beautiful_." Shane seemed unusually serious, and Reed flushed a painful shade of red. Shane found it immensely adorable and chuckled softly, which earned him a small smile and a slap to the chest as Reed pulled away from him.

"Maybe to _you_..." Reed conceded, to which Shane added, "Its the truth!" (Earning him another light slap, of course.)

"…but to Kurt and everyone else, I would currently look like a vagabond." Reed finished with an anguished sigh. "I need a shower _so_ badly…"

He nodded decisively to himself and turned away from Shane to pick his way across the room…only to trip over a pair of his own shoes. He would have taken a face-first dive to the floor if Shane hadn't been following after him dutifully and caught him just in time.

"This room is entirely too hazardous for you," Shane mused as he helped Reed over to his bathroom door. "And a shower sounds like a suicide mission. Maybe I should join you!"

"SHANE!"

"Kidding, _kidding!"_ Shane laughed at the affronted look on Reed's scarlet face. "Mostly. Mostly kidding."

Reed grabbed a tissue box off his bathroom counter and flung it at Shane's head.

"AH! Okay, calm down! I was totally kidding!" Shane raised his hands in defeat, and Reed gave him a withering look before closing the door in his face with a snap.

"Oh, _fine, _leave me out here all alone!" Shane called through the door. "But if you slip and I'm not there to catch you, you'll be sorry!" He laughed cheerfully as the impact of another object echoed through the door and turned away, leaning over to pick up the tissue box at his feet.

Shane decided that he was glad to see Reed emerging from his shell a bit, even if it meant that he had to dodge rather violent attacks with household objects by the blonde boy. After seeing Reed crying so desperately just hours before, Shane would do anything to make him smile again.

_And what a smile that boy has_, Shane thought as he plopped down onto the extra bed in the room (the one he assumed was Kurt's) and splayed out over the bare mattress. _This is it. I'm gone. I died in that rockslide and these three weeks have all been a devastatingly wonderful dream!_

In Shane's mind, Reed's words kept repeating as though on a fixed loop, and each time, Shane felt his heart positively ache with joy. _"You made me fall in love with you…you made me fall in love with you…"_ Shane stared up at the ceiling, practically catatonic, as he replayed that same sentence again and again, while simultaneously listening to the gentile hum of Reed's shower through the wall.

Love. Reed was in love with him. _Reed. _Reed, the gorgeous boy who had captured his heart from the moment he literally tripped his way into Shane's life.

He dropped his head back against the pillows, fully intent on staring up at the ceiling dreamily until Reed was finished getting ready…only to be stabbed in the back of the head by what felt distinctly like a paintbrush. He reached behind his head to pull out – yep – a paintbrush. Well then, _that_ plan was out of the question.

Shane jumped to his feet, and promptly tripped over a shiny silver case that looked like the one his mother used to hold her makeup (he had a sneaking suspicion that it belonged to Kurt). Reed made him want to run up and down the halls, jumping for joy and screaming how much he loves Reed at the top of his lungs…but first, Shane decided, _something _had to be done about the accident-prone boy's disaster of a dorm room before he had an accident that Shane couldn't save him from. If Shane, with his highly developed reflexes, couldn't make it through the room safely, then he knew that Reed was in for some trouble.

_Alright then_, Shane thought with a grin as he surveyed the room around him, _challenge accepted. _

He pulled off his new Dalton blazer, loosened his blue and red striped tie, rolled up the sleeves of his white collared shirt, and set to work.

**::::::::::**

Inside his shower, Reed leaned back against the cool tile and let the scalding water drench his skin, quickly rinsing away all the sweat and paint covering his body. He raised a thin hand to push his sopping curls from his eyes and leaned his head back against the shower wall, his eyes fixed on the ceiling as his mind wandered to the events of the last few hours.

Reed had to wonder incredulously what the hell was going on with him lately, and found that he couldn't come up with a better answer than just…Shane. That was it. Shane. The tall dancer was making him lose his mind – that was the only plausible explanation.

Not four hours ago, Reed had been completely convinced that he'd never see Shane again, never get the chance to explain his feelings or say goodbye, and now, here they were…_together?_

That was the one thing Reed couldn't quite wrap his mind around. Shane seemed to be rather good at leading Reed into situations he'd never dreamed of having to deal with; for example, he'd never once cried over another person – not even when his parents had gotten divorced – and suddenly, here he was bawling his eyes out over another boy, who had somehow managed to capture his heart.

And there it was, the crux of Reed's confusion – Shane was a _boy._

And Reed didn't care. He didn't feel like he _should_ care.

What the hell did _that_ mean?

To distract himself from that line of thinking, Reed busied his hands by grabbing his shampoo and gently washing his curls, but quickly found himself with a different problem – trying desperately not to think of the way _Shane's_ hands had felt running through his hair earlier. Damn it.

Reed groaned quietly and let his hand slide down the side of his throat, his eyes fluttering closed as he dipped his head under the shower and let the stream of water rinse all of the suds from his curls. He moved on to conditioning his hair, but was too busy arguing with himself to pay more than the minimal amount of attention to the task at hand and just barely caught himself before he used his body wash on accident.

Gaga, what was Shane doing to his brain? His thoughts were still so hazy from that kiss earlier that it took a very concerted effort to get through the rest of his bathing activities unscathed, and Reed found himself unnecessarily exhausted by the time he finished rinsing off all the soapsuds from his pale skin.

He leaned back against the tile wall, shivering again as the cool stones pressed into his shoulder blades, and just let the steady stream of the shower beat against his side.

Despite his best efforts, Reed just couldn't seem to keep his mind from wandering back to how wonderful Shane's lips had felt against his own. Not that he could really blame himself, Reed reasoned – it had been his first kiss, after all.

And what a first kiss that had been. It was nothing like what Reed had been expecting, nothing like the horror stories of first kisses his fellow Windsor's had told him about – all teeth and drool and accidentally biting someone's lip (that last story courtesy of Wes). It wasn't even comparable to Kurt's first kiss story, in which he'd kissed a girl who tasted like root beer but made him feel awful on the inside.

No, Reed definitely couldn't compare his first kiss to anything he'd heard before, because that soft, warm kiss he'd shared with Shane was nothing short of _wonderful._

To be quite honest, he'd been afraid of his first kiss for quite some time – partially because of all those aforementioned stories, of course – but mostly because he was afraid of what it would _mean._ If it hadn't been Shane, if he'd been kissed by a girl, would things have been different? Would he have felt the way Kurt described, sort of empty and a little disgusted? Would he have enjoyed it?

And the fact that he _had_ enjoyed a kiss from another boy, what did _that_ mean? It was his first romantic experience of any kind, and three hours later, he _still_ couldn't wrap his mind around all of the happiness and confusion he was feeling over it.

But Shane was always good for that – always there to confuse Reed and make him smile, make him feel safe and loved.

_Maybe this was how it was meant to be_, Reed thought with a small smile, _maybe Shane is supposed to be in my life, because he accepts me no matter what 'label' I choose for myself._ _After all, he was the first person to fall in love with me, the first person to make me feel all of these things and share all of these experiences with me…_

_So I guess that means Shane is my first…boyfriend?_

Somehow, despite the apprehension welling in his stomach at the thought – and all that it implied – Reed found himself smiling broader than ever.

In that moment, he realized that Kurt had been right all along. So what if he wasn't sure about himself, about who or what he was? What did that matter, when he had someone like Shane in his life, to call his own?

So what if Shane was another boy?

Oh yes, Shane was _definitely _a boy, and Reed was definitely okay with that. More than okay.

His mind wandered back to that kiss, and he found himself analyzing it in a whole new light. The firm expanse of Shane's chest beneath his hands had felt…good. Really good. Shane's curly hair had been so soft beneath his fingers, and the gentle but insistent press of his lips against Reed's own – Reed had never felt something so intense, so _overwhelming_.

Just remembering that moment made his skin tingle, and Reed felt himself blushing darkly at his body's reaction to such a simple action. If he was feeling like _this_ after two (two!) little kisses with the younger Anderson, how could he be expected to handle it if – when – things got more…um…physical?

Oh god. Ohgodohgodohgod. Reed wanted to die at the thought. _That_ was certainly not something he was ready to think about, even in the privacy of his own shower. _Especially in his shower. _Shit.

_Shane is in the other room!_ He thought desperately, completely mortified at the sudden desires he was experiencing. _Calm yourself down!_

But that was the whole problem – _Shane was in the next room._

Shane…that boy was going to be bad for his health, Reed was sure of that much.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, startling Reed so badly that he nearly toppled out of the shower.

"Reed?" He heard Shane's voice call through the door, sounding concerned, "You didn't drown in there, did you?"

Reed flattened his hands against the tile, trying desperately to stay upright, and took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.

"…Reed?" Shane asked again, sounding decisively more concerned than before, and Reed quickly shook his head to clear his thoughts before the dancer decided to break down the door – which Reed wouldn't have put past him.

"I–" Reed cringed at how squeaky his voice sounded and cleared his throat before continuing, "I'm fine! I'll be out in a minute!"

"Mkay," he heard Shane reply, his voice taking on a more cheerful tone again.

Reed raised a hand to push his damp bangs out of his eyes and looked around his bathroom, completely bewildered. Damn…how long had he been sitting under the water, daydreaming? Reed wasn't sure he wanted to know.

He quickly turned off the water and carefully (_very_ carefully) exited the shower, wrapping a towel securely around his waist and gently squeezing the water from his hair with another. Once his hair was sufficiently dry – so that it wouldn't frizz up and look terrible, of course – Reed looked around for his clothes.

And quickly realized that he hadn't brought any with him. _Oh, Gaga,_ _not now!_ He groaned and dropped his head against the door, making a soft thud.

Out in Reed's room, Shane had been leaning against the footboard of Reed's, surveying the quick cleaning job he had done with a small smile, proud of how well he had managed to eliminate most of the hazards from the small space. The small thud alerted him to Reed's presence moment before Reed slid the bathroom door open about a foot and peeked his head out, an adorable blush adorning his cheeks.

"Hey, um…Shane, would you mind…t-turning around?" Reed asked, not quite meeting Shane's eyes, "I've got to g-grab some clothes t-to change into…I forgot."

Shane raised an eyebrow at him, then chuckled softly and raised his hands in a silly little gesture Reed took to mean 'I understand' before turning around, his gaze turned pointedly up at the ceiling above the window. Reed sighed gratefully and slowly made his way across the room – pausing after a moment when he realized that he hadn't tripped on anything yet. Had Shane…cleaned his room?

He turned his head to gaze at the back of Shane's head with a look of complete adoration on his face. Shane, who was bouncing on the balls of his feet, trying to be patient as he respectfully turned away to give Reed some privacy, missed the look completely.

Reed decided that he would have to thank his–…his _boyfriend_ later, and grinned to himself at the prospect.

That nice, happy train of thought came to a screeching halt as he turned back to his makeshift closet in one corner of the room, he wanted to slap himself for heading into the bathroom without a change of clothes – as if having a roommate had taught him nothing! Here he was, the son of Hilde Van Kamp, famous fashion magazine editor…caught without an outfit.

And it was all Shane's fault, distracting him with soft touches and blatant innuendoes. Now he wished he had another tissue box to throw at the brunette's head – but there were far more important things to deal with at the moment. Like finding a pair of pants.

Shane was trying, really _trying_, to be good and keep his eyes where they belonged – but it was proving difficult for him to keep still and he thought he might explode if he had to wait a moment longer – so he nearly let out a grateful groan when Reed (who had noticed Shane's increased fidgeting with a bit of worry) called his name from behind him.

"Okay, Shane…calm down…I'm almost decent, you can stop squirming like that now."

_Oh thank god, _he thought and whipped around to face Reed. Whatever he had been about to say died in his throat, because Reed was standing just feet from him _without a shirt on,_ wearing a pair of pants that were so skin-tight that they ought to be illegal. His back was turned to Shane and he was rummaging through his many racks of clothes to find something appropriate to wear, so he didn't notice Shane's reaction to his current state of (un)dress until Shane let out a little squeak that caught his attention.

He turned slightly to look at the boy curiously, his blush darkening back to crimson as he was met with Shane's look of complete awe.

_Shit shit shit._

Reed turned back to his clothing and grabbed the first shirt he could find off its hanger – which turned out to be a faded Egyptian cotton tee with a deep v-neck. _Well okay then._ It was a little out-dated for him, being a little over a month old, but Reed decided that he just didn't _care_ because he could feel Shane staring at his back a little too intently and he thought his face might just burst under the heat from his blush. He tugged the shirt over his head and turned to his mirror (trying desperately not to meet Shane's gaze in the reflection) and decided that it didn't look half-bad.

He sighed a little in relief, feeling much better now that he was more fully clothed, and began to search through his shelves for something to accessorize with. He decided on a black cardigan and a blazer in his favorite shade of blue that complimented the gray and white stripes of the shirt well, and threw a soft, dark gray Keffiyeh scarf on over them both, letting it hang around his neck almost carelessly. He gave his reflection one last appraising look before deciding that _it would_ _just have to be good enough_ and turned back to Shane.

Shane had just enough presence of mind to force his mouth shut, slightly reducing his similarity to a gaping fish, but he couldn't keep the stunned look from his face as Reed moved in front of him.

"You–…uh…" Shane floundered a little as he searched for the right words, and Reed raised an eyebrow at him in confusion as he reached beside his bed to grab his favorite pair of black boots from the floor. He wavered a little bit as he tried to pull them on and Shane reached out instinctively to steady him, his lips breaking into a smile. "You look _fantastic_. I mean, not that you don't _always_ look fantastic, but now you look amazing! So much better than earlier!"

Reed's eyebrow rose higher at that last part and Shane flailed a little bit as he tried to correct his mistake. "Not – not that you looked bad before, really! You just, you seemed so – so _down,_ you know? And now you look like you're back to your normal self again, and you look so good in those pants, and–…aaaand I'm rambling. Remember what I said about my rambling? It's a _disease_ – one without a cure. Please feel free to cut me off at any time, seriously–"

And he did find the end of his sentence cut off, just as he had asked, by the gentle press of Reed's lips against the corner of his own. Reed's eyelashes fluttered against Shane's cheeks as he pulled away, staring up at the taller boy with a soft chuckle on his lips and laughter reflected in his golden-brown eyes. Shane dropped his forehead against Reed's and chuckled as well.

"Thanks." He quirked up the corners of his lips in an embarrassed smile, and Reed patted the brunette's chest softly.

"'Thanks' to you too." He said with a little tilt of his head, "For the strange compliment."

"Anytime." Shane murmured as he leaned a little closer to the shorter boy, keeping his eyes fixed on Reed's to catch any sign of disapproval as his hands wound around Reed's waist – finding none, he closed his eyes and let his lips brush softly against Reed's for the third time that day, feeling his heart leap instantly into his throat. Reed sighed softly and let his eyes drift closed as well, his fingers curling into the front of Shane's crisp, white shirt as he relaxed into the dancer's arms.

They were startled away from each other by the loud, unmistakable thunk of a rock against the window.

Reed jerked away from Shane, looking scandalized, and he swore he could hear Shane curse under his breath as he stormed over to the window, flung it open, ripped the screen from its frame, and stuck his head out into the cool February air.

"_WHAT?" _he demanded, glaring down at the group of boys that had amassed on the stretch of grass beneath Reed's window.

Reed rose up on his tip-toes to try and peer over Shane's shoulder, but couldn't quite tell who Shane had been addressing until one of the Tweedles answered brightly, "We're here to rescue you, Mr. Bat!"

"Oh." Shane seemed to relax at that. "Okay. Thanks, guys!"

"We brought a ladder!" Reed heard David add helpfully. Moments later, there was a soft smack and Blaine's voice could be heard over the laughter that erupted from the group of boys. "He can see that, idiot."

Shane laughed at their antics as he leaned back inside the room and looked over at Reed, gesturing with one hand to the ladder that had been hoisted up against the window frame.

"You comin', blondie?" Shane asked with a playful grin, holding out his other hand for Reed to take.

Reed placed a hand into Shane's larger one and rolled his eyes up at the taller boy. "A 'Tangled' reference, really?"

Shane just grinned wider and shrugged. Reed glanced down at the ladder and grimaced slightly, imagining all the ways he could be injured by climbing down the damn thing. Shane seemed to notice his apprehension and squeezed Reed's hand reassuringly, tilting his head to catch Reed's nervous gaze. "I'll go first, okay? You'll be fine."

"You–…you won't let me fall, right?" Reed asked, blushing deeply but too afraid to look away from Shane's deep green gaze.

"I can't promise that," He said with a shrug, and Reed choked on his breath. "But I'll _always_ be there to catch you," Shane finished with an affectionate smile, and Reed felt his breath catch in his throat for a completely different reason than before.

Sure, Shane was being a little goofy and completely clichéd, but it was the first time anyone had said such sweet things to Reed, and he felt so high on Shane's words that – screw the ladder – he could _float_ right out that window.

"Okay." Reed said with a determined nod, and squeezed Shane's hand. "Let's go."

**::::::::::**

**A/N:**

**I'm getting more and more ashamed of myself with each chapter…what am I going to do when I have to write the Rex that I've been promising everyone? (If that doesn't make sense to you, think it through in the context of this story for a while…and if it still doesn't make sense after that, send me a PM. I won't laugh at you…much. I promise.)**

**Please R&R! :D **

**I love getting feedback, good _and_ bad! It's so so so important that I get these characters right! **


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